Sheffield United have launched an investigation into comments made by defender Connor Brown on Twitter in relation to the trial of a footballer convicted of rape in which the identity of the victim was revealed.

Jonathan Armstrong, a solicitor at Duane Morris who specialises in media law, told the Today programme's Evan Davis that posting something on Twitter is "a bit like going into Trafalgar Square with a megaphone... we don't know who is following... and retweeting you".

Awareness of the legal issues on the social networking site is not good, he said, calling for the education process around possible offences to be improved.

"Rest assured," he said, "saying that you are going to shoot someone is an offence whether you say it on Twitter or whether you say it to people on the street".

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